17,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Learn the basics of baseball as a player, spectator, or coach
Baseball For Dummies gets you started learning about this popular sport. You can improve your fundamentals as a player, inspire your team as a coach, or enjoy watching baseball as a superfan. The book includes helpful illustrations and diagrams that make it easy to understand the rules. You'll learn about offensive and defensive strategies, hitting and pitching techniques, the roles of each player on the team, what managers and coaches do, and how to understand baseball statistics. In beginner-friendly terms, this guide also covers the differences between the Minor and Major Leagues, T-Ball, college baseball, and leagues around the world. Batter up!
- Get a handle on the basic rules, strategies, and skills of baseball
- Learn about the different baseball leagues—including recent changes to the rules—so you can have fun following the sport
- Improve your technique with tips on pitching, hitting, and fielding
- Delve into statistics and advanced concepts that will help you understand pro play
This book is for baseball fans of every level, from beginners to loyal fans who want to know even more. Players and coaches will also love this book's advice on how to sharpen their skills.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 684
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
Ähnliche
Baseball For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Baseball For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Getting Started with Baseball
Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Baseball
Tapping into the Roots of the Game
Understanding the Game’s Structure
Introducing the Playing Field
Getting into the Action of Play
Knowing Who Is in Charge
Enforcing and Scoring: Umpires and Official Scorers
Chapter 2: Suiting Up: Equipment
Choosing Your Weapons: Balls, Bats, and Gloves
If the Shoes Fit …
Equipping Yourself for Safety
Donning Your Caps and Uniforms
Preparing the Field for Practice and Play
Chapter 3: Tackling the Rules of Baseball
Play Ball! Starting the Game
Batting by the Book
Eyeing the Strike Zone
Grasping the Designated Hitter Rule
Adhering to Baserunning Protocol
Eyeing the Rules That Govern the Pitcher
Warming up
Knowing an Umpire’s Authority
Part 2: Taking Your Swings — Playing Offense
Chapter 4: Preparing to Swing the Lumber: Life in the Batter’s Box
Identifying a Hitter’s Tools
Holding the Bat
Stepping Up to the Plate
Tailoring Your Stance
Positioning Your Body
Striding for Power
Dealing with the Strike Zone
Judging the First Pitch
Chapter 5: Hitting Like a Major Leaguer
Slapping Down or Cutting Up: Two Approaches to Hitting
Making Contact
Fine-Tuning Your Swing
Building the Launching Pad
Following Through
Going to All Fields
Analyzing the Pitcher
The Dying Art of Bunting
Executing the Hit-and-Run
Turning the Run-and-Hit
Walking Aggressively
Getting the Most Out of Batting Practice
Working with Your Batting Practice Pitcher
Considering Other Practice Tips
Troubleshooting At the Plate
Overcoming the Fear of Getting Hit
Chapter 6: The Science of Baserunning
Accelerating Out of the Box
Taking Your Lead
Reading Your Opposition
Rounding the Bag
Tagging Up
Using Your Coaches
Sliding Safely
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Preventing the Double Play
Colliding with the Catcher at Home Plate
Profile of a Base Thief
What every base thief should know: Reading the pitcher
Part 3: The Ball in Play — Playing Defense
Chapter 7: Knowing the Players and Plays
Picking a Position
Loading the Cannon: Getting Your Arm Ready for the Field
A Word about Errors
Fielding Grounders: Six Tips
Positioning Yourself for a Strong Defense
Fielding Line Drives
Fielding Fly Balls
Chapter 8: Winning the Arms’ Race: Pitching Like a Major Leaguer
Delivering Your Pitch: Starting with Your Stance
Pitching from the Stretch
Identifying the Weapons in Your Pitching Arsenal
Playing Defense as a Pitcher
Chapter 9: Behind the Plate: The Catcher
Getting Ready: Before the Ball Is Pitched
After the Ball Is Hit
Chapter 10: Playing Infield
Playing First Base: No Hiding Allowed
Focusing on Second Base
Cookin’ at the Hot Corner (Third Base)
Ranging Wide: Playing Shortstop
Chapter 11: Playing the Outfield: Where Fly Balls Go to Die
Setting Up for Basic Defense
Making the Catch
Playing Ground Balls
Part 4: From Little League to the Major Leagues — Organized Baseball
Chapter 12: T-Ball to College Baseball and Everything in Between
Starting with Baseball: T-Ball
Amateur Leagues for All Ages
Dipping into the Collegiate Talent Pool
The Amateur Draft: Fishing for Talent
Chapter 13: The Majors, the Minors, and Other Leagues
Eyeing the Major Leagues
Examining the American Minor Leagues
Swinging the Bat in Japan
Fielding in New Asian Frontiers
Playing in the Tropics The Caribbean Baseball Federation
Looking At the Cuban Juggernaut
Chapter 14: The Rest of the Field: Managers and Coaches
Grasping What a Manager Does
Tapping into an Expert: Sparky Anderson’s Winning Advice
Chapter 15: Identifying the Rest of the Cast of Characters in the Ballpark
Introducing the Man Who Manages the Manager (and Everybody Else)
Scout’s Honor: The Game’s Unheralded Talent Spotters
Eyeing the Front-Office Jobs
Men in Blue: Umpiring Like a Professional
Meeting the Supporting Cast
Chapter 16: Measuring Performance: Calculating Baseball’s Statistics
Calculating a Batter’s Abilities
Measuring a Pitcher’s Performance
Determining a Fielder’s Reliability
Winning the WAR
Bill James’s Win Shares
Crunching Your Team’s Winning Percentage
Chapter 17: Going All the Way: MLB Postseason Play and the World Series
Discovering How the World Series Began
Following the Road to the World Series
Part 5: The View from the Stands — A Spectator’s Guide
Chapter 18: Following the Bouncing Baseball
Picking the Seat with the Best View
Catching a Souvenir: Where to Sit
Knowing How to Keep Score
Looking At the Stadiums
Looking Closer at Stadium Statistics
Chapter 19: Baseball Bans: Don’t Do the Crime If You Can’t Do the Time
Recognizing the Lowdown on PEDs
Grasping Why Athletes Use PEDs
Exploring What PEDs Do for Baseball Performance
Facing the Consequences: MLB’s Rules Regarding PED Use
Chapter 20: Keeping Up Online, on the Air, and on the Newsstand
Baseball in Cyberspace
Watching Baseball on TV
Keeping an Open Ear: Baseball Podcasts
Chapter 21: Playing Fantasy Baseball
Explaining What Fantasy Baseball Really Is
Examining How You Play
Being Successful in Fantasy Baseball
Playing Baseball on Your PC
Part 6: The Part of Tens
Chapter 22: Joe Morgan’s Top Ten Toughest Pitchers He Batted Against
Sandy Koufax: The Left Arm of God
Bob Gibson: Master of the Brushback
Tom Seaver: Thinking Man with a Power Arm
J.R. Richard: He Could Have Been the Best Ever
Juan Marichal: The Dominican Dandy
Steve Carlton: The Lefty
Nolan Ryan: The Ryan Express
Ferguson Jenkins: Iron Man in Wrigley’s Shadows
Vida Blue: Flamethrower Extraordinaire
Roger Clemens: The Rocket
Chapter 23: Joe Morgan’s Ten Smartest Players
Willie Stargell: “Pops”
Cito Gaston
Johnny Bench
Pete Rose
Willie Mays
Hank Aaron
Bob Lillis
Frank Robinson
Dusty Baker
Nellie Fox
Appendix: Baseball Speak: A Glossary
Index
About the Authors
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 The Players
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Training and Field Equipment
Chapter 13
TABLE 13-1 The National League
TABLE 13-2 The American League
TABLE 13-3 MiLB Lower Minors
TABLE 13-4 Japanese Baseball
Chapter 18
TABLE 18-1 The Numbers Assigned to Each Player
TABLE 18-2 Baseball Scoring Abbreviations
TABLE 18-3 Major-League Stadium Statistics
Chapter 20
TABLE 20-1 Other Baseball Websites
Chapter 21
TABLE 21-1 Fantasy Baseball Scoring Categories
TABLE 21-2 A Scoring Example
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: The playing field with its players.
FIGURE 1-2: The structure of the playing field.
FIGURE 1-3: Home plate and the pitching rubber.
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: A standard baseball.
FIGURE 2-2: A standard baseball bat.
FIGURE 2-3: A lefthanded fielder’s glove.
FIGURE 2-4: The catcher’s equipment.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Foul territory (shaded here) varies from stadium to stadium — just ...
FIGURE 3-2: The strike zone.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The basic bat grip and choking up.
FIGURE 4-2: Holding your hands too near or too far from your body changes your ...
FIGURE 4-3: The proper way to hold your bat.
FIGURE 4-4: Standing at the front of the box.
FIGURE 4-5: Hitting from the middle of the box.
FIGURE 4-6: Hitting from deep in the box.
FIGURE 4-7: The open (A), the even (B), and the closed (C) stances.
FIGURE 4-8: A balanced batting stance.
FIGURE 4-9: Beginning your stride.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: The anatomy of making contact.
FIGURE 5-2: Your hands as you make contact.
FIGURE 5-3: The classic follow-through.
FIGURE 5-4: Hitting the ball to all fields.
FIGURE 5-5: An ideal bunting stance.
FIGURE 5-6: The squared-stance bunt.
FIGURE 5-7: Holding the bat for the bunt.
FIGURE 5-8: Where to place the sacrifice bunt.
FIGURE 5-9: Brett Butler executes the drag bunt.
FIGURE 5-10: The drag bunt.
FIGURE 5-11: The batting tee is a great way to practice.
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: The quickest way to first base is a straight line.
FIGURE 6-2: The proper way to run to first and beyond.
FIGURE 6-3: Taking a primary lead.
FIGURE 6-4: Leading off first base.
FIGURE 6-5: Two ways to lead off second.
FIGURE 6-6: Taking your lead off third.
FIGURE 6-7: How to round first.
FIGURE 6-8: The straight-leg slide.
FIGURE 6-9: Trea Turner’s silken slide.
FIGURE 6-10: Andrew McCutcheon prefers the headfirst slide.
FIGURE 6-11: The headfirst slide.
FIGURE 6-12: The hook slide.
FIGURE 6-13: Joe Morgan demonstrates a hook slide against the master hook slide...
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: How to grip the ball before throwing.
FIGURE 7-2: Making the overhand throw.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: Starting the windup.
FIGURE 8-2: Beginning your leg kick.
FIGURE 8-3: Starting to come home.
FIGURE 8-4: Releasing the ball.
FIGURE 8-5: Following-through with the pitch.
FIGURE 8-6: Getting into the stretch position.
FIGURE 8-7: The four-seam fastball.
FIGURE 8-8: The split-fingered fastball.
FIGURE 8-9: The curveball.
FIGURE 8-10: The slider.
FIGURE 8-11: The three-fingered change-up.
FIGURE 8-12: The circle change-up.
FIGURE 8-13: The palmball.
FIGURE 8-14: The knuckleball.
FIGURE 8-15: The right-hander's pick-off move.
FIGURE 8-16: The left-hander's pick-off move.
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: A basic catching stance.
FIGURE 9-2: Giving clear signs to your pitcher.
FIGURE 9-3: Getting ready to receive the pitch.
FIGURE 9-4: Blocking balls in the dirt.
FIGURE 9-5: Blocking the runner from scoring.
FIGURE 9-6: Scooping up a bunt.
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: Taking the throw at first.
FIGURE 10-2: Getting ready for the play.
FIGURE 10-3: The pivot for the double play.
FIGURE 10-4: Fielding and throwing the slow roller in one motion.
FIGURE 10-5: The backhand play.
FIGURE 10-6: The shortstop’s glove has to be ready.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: The basic outfield stance.
FIGURE 11-2: Catching the fly ball.
FIGURE 11-3: Going back on the fly ball.
FIGURE 11-4: Keeping the ground ball in front of you.
Chapter 18
FIGURE 18-1: Each section in a ballpark has its own unique perspective.
FIGURE 18-2: Where to await a chance for a free souvenir.
FIGURE 18-3: A blank baseball scorecard.
FIGURE 18-4: The Green Monster looms at Fenway.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Appendix: Baseball Speak: A Glossary
Index
About the Authors
Pages
i
ii
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
Baseball For Dummies®, 5th Edition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHORS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2024952187
ISBN 978-1-394-29083-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-29086-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-29084-0 (ebk)
Introduction
Welcome to Baseball For Dummies, 5th Edition, a book dedicated to the proposition that no one’s education is complete unless it includes a thorough grounding in the principles of the greatest sport ever created. This book is much like a baseball game: orderly but spontaneous, filled with nuance and surprise, and packed to the brim with cutting-edge information — and fun. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.
About This Book
We wrote this book to appeal to fans of every level, from the novice who just recently purchased his first pack of baseball cards to the loyalist who has been sitting in the same seat at the ballpark since the Coolidge administration. Whether you participate on the field or just watch, our mission is to increase your baseball pleasure by a factor of ten.
As a spectator, you’ll have an easier time watching and appreciating baseball’s finer points after you finish our book. You will not only know what the players on the field are doing, but you’ll also know why they are doing it. If an extraterrestrial dropped out of the skies, we would hope it could read Baseball For Dummies, 5th Edition, today and attend its first baseball game tomorrow without experiencing any confusion.
The new edition is even better than its predecessors. It can keep you abreast of not only what’s changed on the field — including the stadiums themselves — but it can push open the doors on the Major League front office and reveal the behind-the-scenes movers and shakers. You can get hip to the latest in advanced statistics, rules, and baseball lingo; find out why the amateur draft is so important to building a winning team; and get the scoop on the Steroid Era, from the beginning to the present day. If all that weren’t enough, we also guide you in finding the best in baseball news and analysis on the Internet and in print.
If you’re a player, there isn’t any component of your game that can’t be elevated by studying this volume. Pitching, hitting, fielding, and baserunning — we cover it all with the aid of some of the game’s legendary players. It doesn’t matter if you’re taking your first cuts in Little League or already sitting in a big-league dugout; you can find something in this book to make you a better player.
Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you have it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.
Foolish Assumptions
When we wrote this book, we made the following assumptions about you. All of them or just one may apply to you:
You’re a novice and want a quick primer on the ins and outs of the game.
No other book can offer you such a comprehensive introduction to the national pastime.
You’re a diehard fan who already knows a lot about the sport and you just want to uncover as much as you can about it.
We show you how the great outfielders are able to get a good jump on the ball, where the first baseman should stand to receive a cutoff throw, how many stitches are in a baseball, and who manufactures bats that meet Major-League standards. Plus, we provide a look at all levels of the game, from T-ball to the Major Leagues. This book is chock-full of inside tips and insights that you rarely encounter anywhere below the professional ranks.
You’re a parent of a baseball-playing child.
You want to know exactly what’s transpiring on the field during every moment of the game.
No matter whether one of these assumptions addresses you, we’re confident that you can find tons of useful information to help you love the game even more.
Icons Used in This Book
These icons that appear in the book’s margins can help you navigate your way through the book. Here is what they mean.
Talk like this and the folks in the bleachers will have no trouble understanding you.
This icon signals tips from the Hall of Famer himself.
This icon gives you valuable information that can prevent you from making a bonehead play on or off the field.
This icon alerts you to sage advice from the greats of the game, signals an insight that can enhance your baseball viewing (whether you are in the stadium or in front of the TV), and alerts you to advice that comes from a coach and can be passed on by a coach.
Beware! This icon warns you that a situation can be dangerous.
Beyond This Book
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book also comes with a free, access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that discusses where players position themselves on the field, all the ways batters and runners make outs, and the ways batters reach base. To view the Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type Baseball For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
If you don’t have a strong understanding of baseball, we suggest that you start with Chapter 1 and read your way through the book, front to back cover. However, if you’re familiar with the sport, you can peruse through the table of contents or index, find the topic that interests you, and read that chapter. Feel free to reference this book during the season as you’re watching a game or during the offseason when something, such as an odd statistic or a term, doesn’t make sense.
Part 1
Getting Started with Baseball
IN THIS PART …
Examine the history of baseball, including how the game started and how it has evolved into America’s pastime.
Identify the tools of the trade so you can take the field properly equipped, know where you can acquire them, and discover how to take care of your bats, balls, and gloves so they can take care of you.
Review the rules of baseball so you don’t commit any
faux pas
on or off the field, such as running the bases in the wrong direction or failing to tag up before scoring on a would-be sacrifice fly.
Know how to use the proper glove for your position, so that you don’t wear a catcher’s mitt in the outfield.
Make sure that you stay in foul territory when you reach third base — if you don’t and your teammate strikes a fair ball that hits you, you’ll not only be called out, but you’ll also incur the wrath of your teammate for robbing him of a possible hit.
Look closer at the strike zone so that you don’t mistake for strikes pitches high over your head or low enough to bounce past the catcher. And understand that although there’s supposed to be a uniform strike zone, each umpire has his own interpretation of it, so you had better pay close attention to the zone.
Chapter 1
The Lowdown on Baseball
IN THIS CHAPTER
Uncovering the origins and objective of the game
Plotting player positions and field layout
Handing over hits and runs
Delivering strikes and balls
For people who still believe that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York, we bring you a line from the gangster movie Donnie Brasco: “Fuhgedaboudit!” Abner didn’t invent nuttin’. No one person actually conceived of the sport. Baseball evolved from earlier bat and ball games including town ball, rounders, and “one old cat”(which was played with home plate and one base). Although there’s no denying that the English game of cricket was also an influence, baseball is as singular an American art form as jazz. (Although during the early 1960s, the Soviet Union claimed baseball was a Russian creation. We should note, however, that Soviets were also taking credit back then for the invention of the telephone and the electric light.)
This chapter gives you a quick overview of America’s pastime. Whether you’ve been a fan your entire life or just started showing an interest in the sport, this chapter can help you start.
Tapping into the Roots of the Game
According to John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, a game called “baseball” was documented in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1791 but was probably played in that state much earlier. A game called baste or baste ball — most likely the same game, was played at Princeton College in 1786.
For many years, Abner Doubleday was considered the game’s “Zeus,” with baseball springing directly from his brain. Revisionist historians then shifted their credit to a bank teller named Alexander Cartwright, who was thought to have invented most of the rules in atavistic form. However, thanks to the research Thorn presented in his book, “Baseball in the Garden of Eden,” we know three other men had more to do with baseball’s rise than those two: William Rufus Wheaton, Daniel Lucius Adams, and Louis Fenn Wadsworth. Wheaton (not Cartwright) wrote the first baseball rules for a club called the Gothams and copied them, virtually unchanged, eight years later for the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of 1845. Adams (not Cartwright) positioned the base paths ninety feet apart, set the pitching distance at 45 feet (its distance from the late 1850s well into the era of professional league play, enduring until 1880) and created the position of shortstop around 1850. Wadsworth (not Cartwright) is responsible for setting the number of men to each side at nine, as well as the number of innings required to complete a game. In doing so, he bucked the majority of his fellow Knickerbockers, who preferred to play seven innings. The ancient Knicks achieved a semblance of validation when in 2020, Major League Baseball decided to limit the second game of doubleheaders to seven innings (though it discontinued this practice before the 2022 season).
Understanding the Game’s Structure
In the Major Leagues, a game is divided into nine units of play called innings. Almost all leagues play nine-inning games, except some youth leagues that play only five to seven innings. An inning consists of a turn at-bat and three outs for each team. Visiting teams bat in the first half (called the top) of an inning; home teams bat in the second half (called the bottom) of the inning.
While one club (the offensive team) is at-bat, the other (the defensive team) plays in the field. Nine players compose each team’s lineup. The defensive team consists of the pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. Check out Figure 1-1 of the playing field to see the basic positions for each of the defensive players. (Table 1-1 gives you the abbreviations for these players.)
Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics
FIGURE 1-1: The playing field with its players.
TABLE 1-1 The Players
Abbreviation
Position
P
Pitcher
C
Catcher
1B
First baseman
2B
Second baseman
3B
Third baseman
SS
Shortstop
LF
Left fielder
CF
Center fielder
RF
Right fielder
When nine isn’t really nine
Many baseball games are finished before the completion of nine full innings. If the home team leads after the top of the ninth, it wins the game without taking its turn at-bat in the bottom of that inning. The home team can also win the game in less than nine innings if it scores the winning run during the last inning before the third out. For example, the Toronto Blue Jays come to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers lead 3–2. With two men out, Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits a two-run homer off the Tiger starter. Toronto wins, 4–3. The game is over even though the two teams combined for only 8 2/3 innings. (Remember, a team doesn’t complete an inning until it makes the third out.)
This example illustrates the difference between baseball and other major team sports. Either team can win a game that ends in regulation time in football (four quarters), basketball (four quarters), and hockey (three periods). In baseball, the home team can never win any game that ends after nine full innings (except in the event of a forfeit).
Going extra innings
Games that are tied after nine innings go into extra innings. The two opponents play until they complete an extra inning with the visiting team ahead or until the home team scores the winning run. However, in 2020, MLB introduced the extra-inning tiebreaker rule, in which a runner (also known as a ghost runner) is automatically placed on second base to begin each inning. The rule originally was introduced on a trial basis during the 60-game 2020 pandemic season as a way to shorten games and reduce the risk of injury after a pandemic-jerry-rigged spring-training shutdown and midsummer build-up period for pitchers. After retaining the rule on a temporary basis in 2021 and 2022, the rule was made permanent in 2023, much to the dismay of purists who felt that players should do something to earn their way on base. However, purists should be happy to know the rule applies only to regular season play. You won’t see ghost runners used in postseason games.
Introducing the Playing Field
Baseball is played on a level field divided into an infield and an outfield. The infield (also known as the diamond) must be a square 90 feet (27.45 meters) on each side. Home plate sits at one corner of the square, and the three bases rest at the other corners. Moving counterclockwise from home, you see first base, second base, and third base.
Base lines run from home plate to first base, as well as from home to third. Base lines also extend from first base to second and from second to third. However, only the base lines extending from home to first and home to third are marked by white chalk. The lanes connecting the bases are the base paths. Runners must stay within them while traveling around the diamond. Should a runner step out of the base path to elude a tag, the umpire can call him out.
Foul lines extend from the first-base and third-base lines and run straight to the outfield walls. The section of the outfield beyond first base is called right field, the outfield section behind second base and shortstop is center field, and the outfield section beyond third base is left field.
Coaches pass on advice to players from the coach’s boxes, the chalk rectangles in foul territory near first and third. When the players are not on the field, they sit in shelters in foul territory called dugouts. Between the dugout and home plate is the on-deck circle, where the next hitter awaits his turn at-bat. (See Figure 1-2.)
Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics
FIGURE 1-2: The structure of the playing field.
Major League rules required the distance from home plate to the nearest fence or wall in fair territory for stadiums built before June 1, 1958 to be at least 250 feet (76 meters). The required distance for stadiums built after that date is 325 feet (99.06 meters). Home plate must be a 17-inch (43-centimeter) square with two of its corners removed to leave a 17-inch edge, two 8½-inch (21.5-centimeter) adjacent sides, and two 12-inch (30.5-centimeter) sides angled to a point. The result is a five-sided slab of white rubber. A regulation pitching rubber is a 24-x-6-inch (61-x-15.5-centimeter) rectangle made of white rubber, set in the middle of the diamond 60 feet, 6 inches (18.4 meters) from the rear of home plate (see Figure 1-3).
Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics
FIGURE 1-3: Home plate and the pitching rubber.
Getting into the Action of Play
The pitcher is the player who stands at the middle of the infield diamond on the hill called the mound, where the pitching rubber is located. He throws the baseball toward the catcher, a teammate who squats behind home plate. When the pitcher throws the ball to the batter at home plate, he is said to be delivering a pitch.
Each batter comes to the plate according to a specific order (the batting order or lineup) designated by the manager or head coach. The opposing team’s batter (hitter) stands in one of two batter’s boxes on either side of home plate. If he’s right-handed, he stands in the box to the left of the plate (as viewed from behind). If he’s left-handed, he stands in the box to the right of the plate. As the ball reaches the home plate area, the batter tries to hit it with a club called a bat. The batter tries to hit the ball into fair territory — that part of the playing field between the first- and third-base lines, from home base to the outfield fences — where it is either fielded (caught) for an out or drops in safely for a base hit. (We describe the various ways a batter makes an out or reaches base safely in Chapter 3.) A hit can take four forms:
A
single
delivers the batter to first base.
A
double
is hit far enough that the batter reaches second base.
A
triple
gets the batter to third base.
A home run means the batter circles all three bases and touches home plate for a run.
Home runs usually travel over the outfield fence in fair territory. If a batter hits a ball that stays on the field, but he is able to circle the bases and touch home before he can be called out, he has hit an inside-the-park home run.
Players score runs by getting on base and then moving around (and touching) all three bases in order before crossing home plate. They must reach home before the offensive team tallies three outs in its half of the inning. When a club’s hitters make three outs, its half-inning ends. Then it takes the field (moves to defense) and the opposing team comes to bat. (Chapter 3 has all the details on how an out is made.)
GAME CALLED BECAUSE OF …
Umpires can call (end) games because of inclement weather, power outages, earthquakes (don’t laugh — a seismic tremor postponed the 1989 World Series between Oakland and San Francisco), a disciplinary action (a mob of fans runs on the field and refuses to vacate; no matter which team is ahead, the umpire forfeits the game in favor of the visiting club), or some other event that renders play impossible or dangerous. To be an official game (one that counts as a win or a loss in the league standings), the two teams must play at least five full innings. Exceptions to this rule occur whenever the top of the fifth concludes with the home team ahead or if the home team scores the winning run during that fifth frame.
You can advance on the bases (move from first to second, second to third, or third to home) at any time, but you do so at your own peril. If you’re off base when a member of the defensive team (a fielder) tags you with the ball, you are out. The exception to this occurs if you overrun first base on a single without turning to take an extra base. The fielder cannot tag you out as you return to first. Another exception occurs after the umpire calls “Time” (timeout). At that moment, the ball is considered dead. You may step off base without being put out, but you may not advance. Umpires may call time at the request of either team, when an injury occurs, or if some circumstance threatens the flow of the game (for instance, a cat running across the field).
Knowing Who Is in Charge
In professional baseball, managers are the team leaders. (At some other levels, such as college and high school baseball, this person may be referred to as the head coach.) Managers plot strategy and decide which team members play which positions. They also determine a club’s batting order. Most importantly, they decide which players to put on the field in the first place. In essence, they’re personnel managers.
Managers have assistants, called coaches, who help them train and discipline the team. Managers also use the first- and third-base coaches to pass along instructions to players through a series of signs. In recent years it has become fashionable for managers to employ a bench coach. This coach is usually a savvy baseball veteran with whom the manager plots strategy throughout the game.
Enforcing and Scoring: Umpires and Official Scorers
On-field officials known as umpires enforce the rules of play. In the Major Leagues, four umpires — one for each base and home plate — are assigned to each game (in some minor leagues, only two or three umpires preside over each game). Umpires have complete authority. They can eject anyone from the field who violates the rules of conduct They decide whether a batted ball is fair or foul and whether a player is safe or out. The home-plate umpire also calls balls and strikes during the pitcher-batter confrontation, although that age-old power dynamic may change. (See the nearby sidebar, “The ABS system: MLB’s robo-cops.”)
All professional games also have official scorers. The league hires these people to record on a scorecard all the events that take place on the field during a game. Scorers can’t overrule an umpire, nor can they affect the outcome of a game. They do, however, often rule on whether a batted ball should be labeled a hit or an error for the official record. (In high school and college games, the home team may provide a scorer, who usually consults with the visiting team scorekeeper on a close call.)
THE ABS SYSTEM: MLB’S ROBO-COPS
Perhaps nothing raises more controversy among baseball aficianados than the proposed introduction of a computer system that uses high-speed camera technology to call balls and strikes. This system was first bruited in 2019 in the independent Atlantic League, and then used in the minor leagues as part of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s plan to create a faster-paced game. It employs an automated ball-strike system (ABS), which tracks pitches using a dozen ultra-high-speed cameras, processes the result and delivers it into an earpiece worn by the home-plate umpire in the half a second it takes a pitch to cross home plate.
In the early stages of ABS, human umpires still made ball-and-strike calls, but the pitcher, catcher, and batter could appeal the umpire’s call to the ABS. Each team receives three appeals in Challenge Games, with successful appeals retained for future use. To some witnesses, the challenge system gave birth to an entire new level of strategy with managers teaching players the most optimal manner to use the challenges — avoiding frivolous challenges and protecting the team from egregious ball-strike call mistakes in pivotal moments.
In 2024, the ABS system was introduced in all minor-league ballparks, and is expected to eventually enter the big leagues in some form (with or without the challenges).
MORE THAN HISTORY: BASEBALL’S HALL OF FAME
To discover more about the history and evolution of this great game, there’s only one place to visit: the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The museum houses tens of thousands of artifacts, including examples of the earliest bats, balls, and gloves (see the following figure of historic baseballs). Many of the exhibits are interactive. The Hall’s library and archives boast the world’s most comprehensive collection of printed baseball matter, including box scores from the late 1800s.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N. Y.
The Hall of Fame gallery is this institution’s Valhalla, the place where baseball’s immortals are commemorated in bronze. Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America elect honorees from a list of players with ten years or more of major-league service. All candidates must be retired from baseball for at least five years before they can be considered for induction. The Hall of Fame Era Committees, formerly known as the Veterans Committee, annually votes for managers, pioneers of the sport, baseball executives, umpires, players from the Negro Leagues, and players who missed election their first time through the Baseball Writers Association of America voting process. A candidate must collect 75 percent of all ballots cast by either the writers or the Era Committees to earn a plaque in the gallery.
The Hall reserves the right to exclude anyone on baseball’s ineligible list from its ballots. Players on the ineligible list also are disqualified from holding jobs with any MLB teams. Pete Rose was ruled ineligible because he bet on baseball games while serving as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Major league baseball banned Shoeless Joe Jackson after he participated in a conspiracy with gamblers and seven Chicago White Sox teammates to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series. When a banned player dies, MLB removes his name from the ineligible list. Both Jackson and Rose, however, remain ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration despite their sterling credentials. As a spokesman for the institution has explained, “This (ineligible) designation remains in place after an individual's passing.”
The Hall also features permanent exhibits such as Chasing the Dream (about the legendary Hank Aaron’s career), The Look Magazine Collection, which features thousands of iconic baseball photos, and One for the Books, a showcase for baseball’s records and the stories behind them. Throughout the museum, you’ll find pieces from the Barry Halper Collection, which includes such rare items as a camel hair overcoat formerly worn by one George Herman (Babe) Ruth that Mr. Halper had previously displayed in the basement of his New Jersey home. At various times of the year, the Hall of Fame also presents special temporary exhibits.
You may visit the museum as a walk-in, book a private tour for a group, or, for the ultimate HOF experience, reserve a Private Collections Showcase, which will give you and your group the opportunity to view select items from the museum and library. As a bonus, you can ask the Hall to include artifacts from your favorite team.
You can purchase tickets, and obtain schedule and exhibit information for the Hall by calling 888-425-5633 or visiting its website at www.baseballhall.org.
Chapter 2
Suiting Up: Equipment
IN THIS CHAPTER
Tossing a regulation baseball
Finding the right bat
Choosing a glove
Dressing for safety and style
Equipping your field
When Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Dick Groat was hitting his way to a batting title and MVP award in 1960, his manager Danny Murtaugh claimed, “Groat could hit .300 using a piece of barbed wire as a bat.” Perhaps Groat could, and Luis Arraez certainly looks like he could hit with a soda straw, but no one expects you to match those feats. When you take the field, you should bring the best equipment available, which this chapter discusses. You don’t need to spend vast sums to purchase top-quality accessories as long as you know what to look for and where to find it. Hence, as the late sportscaster Howard Cosell would say, this chapter tells it like it is.
Choosing Your Weapons: Balls, Bats, and Gloves
Unless you’re under ten years old, you should buy equipment that meets all the Major-League specifications. Equipment licensed by a reputable body such as Major League Baseball, the NCAA, or the Little League offers you some quality assurances.
These sections show you how to shop for the basic tools you need to play the game effectively and keep yourself protected both on the field and in the batter’s box. With the right ball, bat, and glove, your chances of success on the playing field increase dramatically.
Baseballs that last (and last and last)
A baseball must meet the following criteria:
Have a circumference between 9 and 9¼ inches (22.9cm and 23.5cm)
Weigh between 5 and 5¼ ounces (141.7g and 148.8g)
Have an outer covering constructed from two pieces of white horsehide or cowhide stitched together with red thread
Have a cork core surrounded by two layers of rubber and wrapped in yarn
Figure 2-1 shows a standard baseball.
Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics
FIGURE 2-1: A standard baseball.
You don’t have to go to your local sporting goods store armed with a tape measure, scale, and scalpel (for filleting the ball to check its innards) to make sure you’re buying a baseball that conforms to Major-League standards. Rawlings (1-866-678-4327, www.rawlings.com) is the only company licensed by both Major Leagues to manufacture their official baseballs. So, if you buy one of their balls, you know you’re getting the genuine article. Rawlings’ baseballs carry the designation “Official Baseball of the American (or National) League” and are signed by the commissioner of baseball. You can buy first-rate baseballs that other companies manufacture, but you have no way of knowing whether these products are of Major-League quality.
If you plan to lose a lot of balls bashing homers during batting practice, you may want to invest in a bagful of Rawlings’ Recreational Play baseballs. Constructed of synthetic leather with a rubber center, these balls have the same weight and dimensions as the official league balls at a fraction of the cost.
Rawlings tests its baseballs by injecting them into an air gun and firing them against a steel plate. To pass muster with the company’s ballologists (yes, we made that word up), the hurtled sphere must rebound at 51.4 to 54.6 percent of its original velocity. Other machines roll each ball for 15 seconds to ensure roundness and that the seams come out flat and even.
A ball whose insides are poorly wrapped rapidly becomes misshapen with use. If your baseball is poorly stitched or constructed from inferior leather, it will fall apart. Avoid balls made with synthetic leather wrapped around a core of hard plastic. This kind of ball makes a good toy or first ball for a toddler, but if you’re a young adult or older, you’ll tear its cover off in one good afternoon of batting practice. The toy balls are also so light that you risk throwing out your arm if you use one for a serious game of catch.
Want to rip a few line drives inside a gymnasium during the dead of winter? Several companies manufacture balls with nylon covers and cloth centers so your best line drives won’t shatter any windows. Honing your batting eye after dusk? Shop for orange-colored baseballs — a brainchild of Charlie Finley, the late, innovative owner of the Oakland A’s — specifically designed for nighttime play. And for those of you who like to play through rain delays, Baden Sports (https://www.badensports.com/) is one of several companies that offer waterproof baseballs.
Bats that really swing
Although pro players are required to use wooden bats, many people prefer the power that aluminum can offer. In this section, we cover how to buy a bat that will last, how to care for it after you’ve made your purchase, and what to expect if you choose the metal version rather than your standard lumber.
REDUCING INJURIES WITH INNOVATIVE BASEBALLS
Many baseball-playing youngsters live in fear of being struck by a batted or thrown ball. Likewise, many parents fret while watching their children face live pitching for the first time. To ease such fears, Rawlings manufactures reduced injury factor (RIF) baseballs — softer balls that reduce the peak force of impact, lessening the chance of serious injury. Although slightly spongier, a RIF ball has the exact size and weight of a regulation baseball, giving children a realistic training tool that reduces the chance of head trauma by as much as 70 percent. Diamond Sports (https://www.diamond-sports.com) also manufactures RIF baseballs. To protect young players, many youth leagues require teams to play with RIF baseballs and a few municipalities have even mandated their use.
Professional wood
A Major-League bat must be a single, round piece of solid wood, no more than 2.61 inches (6.6 centimeters) in diameter at its thickest point and no more than 42 inches (1.07 meters) long. Figure 2-2 shows what a standard bat looks like.
Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics
FIGURE 2-2: A standard baseball bat.
Choose a bat that you can swing comfortably with control and speed (see Chapter 5 for more details), but also look for one that will last. Bats made of white ash have greater durability than bats constructed from less dense woods. When you choose a bat, look for one with a wide grain, the mark of an aged wood. These bats are more resistant to breaking, denting, chipping, or flaking than bats made from less mature wood.
Marucci (https://maruccisports.com) is the official bat manufacturer for Major-League Baseball. Their Pro Model bats replicate the bludgeons major leaguers employ to launch baseballs into space. If you want a bat uniquely your own, order a Custom Pro Model, which the company will manufacture to your specifications, including wood type, size, finish, and even color.
You can purchase the legendary Louisville Slugger (https://www.slugger.com/en-us) in traditional wood, aluminum, and composite element versions. The company produces bats for hardball and fast-pitch softball in a wide array of eye-catching colors. Customers who love discounts should appreciate the Louisville Slugger “Trade In and Trade Up” program. The promotion lets you trade in your bat, no matter what the brand, for a voucher worth $50 to $100, depending on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the older model.
For the color-coordinated among you, Glomar Enterprises (532-449-3822, www.glomarusa.com) sells a customized white ash bat that you can have stained in your favorite hue and with your name printed on the middle line of the barrel.
Powerful aluminum
Aluminum bats are currently popular in many levels of nonprofessional baseball. More than 4.1 million are made in the United States each year. The choice of aluminum over wood is largely an economic one. Most non-pro leagues find that the cost of regularly replacing broken wooden bats can bust their budgets. On average, it costs about as much to buy an entire team’s worth of aluminum bats that will last up to five seasons as it does to buy one season’s worth of wooden bats.
Hitters love aluminum bats because they’re hollow and light yet they have more hitting mass than heavier wooden bats. Also, balls fly off aluminum bats faster — up to 8 miles per hour faster. What the scientists call their batted ball speed can reach almost 107 miles per hour. This combination enables the hitter to generate greater bat speed and power. Balls that are routine outs when struck by a wooden bat are out of the park when launched by aluminum.
An aluminum bat’s sweet spot, the launching point for so many base hits, is twice the size of that found on a wooden bat. Pitchers dislike these war clubs for obvious reasons.
Aluminum bats have a longer game-life than wooden models, but they aren’t immortal. After 600 hits or so, metal fatigue becomes a factor.
If your league insists that you use an aluminum bat, buy one that rings or lightly vibrates when you strike its barrel on something hard, such as the BBCOR bats, the new standard in metal bats for high school and college play.
Picking your lumber
The bat you choose should feel comfortable. Big-league bats generally weigh between 32 and 36 ounces (around 1 kilogram). If you can snap a 36- to 38-ounce bat through the strike zone with control and velocity, go for it. When a pitched ball collides with a heavyweight bat, it travels farther.
However, don’t choose a large, heavy bat thinking it will magically transform you into a power hitter. Big bats don’t necessarily produce big hits. If you can’t control your bat, your swing becomes awkward and long. You may have to start your swing early in the pitcher’s delivery — and after you get it going, it’s hard to stop. Pitchers, taking advantage of that swing, can continually fool you with breaking stuff. Pretty soon, you won’t be hitting for power, you won’t be hitting for singles, you won’t be hitting period. You may as well use that big bat for kindling. See Chapters 4 and 5 for more science-based data on exactly what aspects of your swing determine your sweet spot.
Bats come in various shapes. Find one that suits you. For instance, a bat with a medium handle and large barrel offers more hitting surface. However, you won’t be able to snap it through the hitting zone as quickly as a bat with a very thin handle and a large barrel. Throughout most of my career, I swung an average-sized bat — it weighed 32 ounces (907 grams) and measured 34½ inches (87.6 centimeters) long — yet I still managed to lead the National League in slugging in 1976. It had a thin handle and a large barrel. Bat speed was the key to my power. With my light bat, I could wait longer on the ball, which allowed me more time to recognize the pitch. I could whip through the strike zone with a quick, compact swing. The large barrel added momentum and gave me all the hitting surface I wanted.
THE ALUMINUM BAT CONTROVERSY
Aluminum bats were introduced in 1970, and college teams began using them in 1974. As fast as hitters came to love them, other people wanted to ban them. The anti-aluminum side felt that they gave the hitters a huge advantage that distorted the balance between offense and defense. They also felt that the bat inflated batting averages and game scores, made games longer, and induced young players to go yard (hit a home run).
Even more concerns focused on the safety of players, especially pitchers and infielders, because the anti-aluminum side claimed that aluminum bats made the game more dangerous. A pitch thrown at 90 mph could come back off a lively aluminum bat at 108 mph and reach the pitcher 0.375 seconds later, leaving him a nanosecond to defend himself.
Over the years, aluminum bat manufacturers took advantage of loopholes in the rules to create even springier bats. These turbocharged clubs led to an increase in incidents in which pitchers were hit by line drives. Comebackers became potentially fatal — and sometimes actually so.
In 2003, an 18-year-old American Legion pitcher was killed by a line drive. Seven years later, a Little League pitcher also died after being hit in the head by a batted ball. Other players’ careers were ended by a errant ping.
In 2009, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) changed the way it certified bats. It decided that the existing system that measured the speed a baseball has after being hit by a bat — known as Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) — was inadequate and switched to one that measures the bounciness of the ball and the bat. This is known as the Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR). To determine the BBCOR, testers fire baseballs from a cannon to different spots on the bat. They then compare the velocity of the ball before and after impact with the bat. To earn NCAA certification, the ratio between the two measurements must not exceed .50.
In response, bat makers shifted to composite bats constructed with the same aluminum exterior, but with a graphite wall on the inside. High school governing bodies quickly adopted the system.
The new bats effectively decreased run scoring and drastically changed how the game is played. Those fly balls struck by aluminum bats that once would’ve reached the bleachers now settled safely in outfielders’ gloves, and a more varied offense featuring more singles, doubles and stolen bases displaced the home run–derby style that preceded it. That little bit of graphite at least temporarily created a new dead ball era in college ball. (See Chapter 12 for more on the growing interest in collegiate ball.)
Some big-league hitters change bats depending on the pitcher. I would occasionally go to a heavier bat against soft-throwing left-handers. I knew I didn’t have to be quite as quick against them, and the bat’s additional mass helped me drive the ball. Other than those instances, however, I stayed with my regular bat. It gave me the bat speed, control, and balance I needed to cope with most situations.
If you’re a younger player, you may want to think light. If you’re not sure what precise bat weight is right for you, simply choose a bat that’s comfortable.
